A Brief History of the Armenian Genocide

Transcription

1 A Brief History of the Armenian Genocide Source: Social Education 69(6), pg , 2005 National Council for the Social Studies, Adapted for The Genocide Education Project by the author. I am confident that the whole history of the human race contains no such horrible episode as this. The great massacres and persecutions of the past seem almost insignificant when compared with the sufferings of the Armenian race in Henry Morgenthau, American ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, Who Are the Armenians? The Armenians are an ancient people who have existed since before the first century C.E. Armenia has gained and lost a tremendous amount of territory throughout its long and turbulent history. Boundaries of the past have extended from that of the present-day Republic of Armenia and through most of modern day Turkey. The name Armenia was actually given to the country by its neighbors; inhabitants of Armenia refer to it as Hayastan derived from the name Haik, a descendent of Noah (from the Bible), and stan which means land in Persian. The Armenian language is unique from other Indo- European languages, with its own distinct letters and grammar. Christianity is a deeply rooted aspect of Armenian history and culture. Armenia was the first nation to adopt Christianity as a state religion, in 301 C.E. This early Christian identity has greatly influenced Armenian culture, setting it apart from most of its neighboring peoples. The majority of Armenians belong to the Eastern or Western dioceses of the Armenian Apostolic Church, an orthodox form of Christianity. Although Armenia was at times a kingdom, in modern times, Armenia has been an independent country for only a few years. It first gained independence in 1918, after the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in World War I, but this ended when Armenia was invaded by the Red Army and became a Soviet state in With the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Armenia was the first state to declare its independence, and remains an independent republic today. Armenia is a democracy and its borders only include a very small portion of the land that was historic Armenia. 54

2 Early Massacres The Seljuk Turks began to inhabit Anatolia as early as the eleventh century and by 1453 their descendants, the Ottoman Turks, had captured Constantinople (now Istanbul), firmly establishing the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman Empire was a multinational state that incorporated several ethnic groups including the Armenians. The Armenians were second-class citizens of the Ottoman Empire and while they were granted some freedoms, including the ability to practice Christianity, they were faced with extra taxes and discriminatory laws extending to their participation in the justice system, government, and their civil and property rights. By the mid-1800s, as the idea of constitutionalism swept through Europe, some Armenians began to demand more rights, such as protection from corrupt government officials and biased taxation. While most Armenians saw themselves as members of the Ottoman Empire, organized groups of intellectuals protested the discriminatory laws, seeking reform from the government, though not an independent sovereign state. During the nineteenth century, the Ottoman Empire experienced a period of decline, during which it lost territories to Russia, Great Britain, and new states created by nationalities that had once been part of the Ottoman Empire, such as Greece, Serbia, Bulgaria and Romania. Early in the century, Russia had gained some of the eastern Armenian provinces, including Tiflis, which became a cultural center for Russian Armenians. Russian Armenians became increasingly interested in supporting Armenians within the Ottoman Empire in their quest for human rights. The newly created Ottoman Armenian political organizations received some support from Russian Armenians and Russia in their quest to gain equal rights under Ottoman law. The Treaty of Berlin (1878) included a clause that would provide more rights for Ottoman Armenians, including fair taxation practices, protections from tribal attacks, and the right to give evidence in Ottoman courts of law. Unfortunately these rights were never granted as the Sultan was empowered by the treaty to serve as he protector of the Armenians. This was in contrast to the terms of the earlier Treaty of San Stefano, which the Treaty of Berlin replaced, and which had assigned the Russians the responsibility of ensuring that the Armenians in Ottoman territory would gain more rights. The reason for the change was that the presence of Russian troops in the region was of concern to Great Britain and the other Great Powers of Europe who wanted to deter the expansion of Russia. After the Treaty of Berlin, Ottoman Armenians continued to protest discriminatory laws and eventually the Sultan responded to these protests with massacres. Massacres of the Armenians began in the late nineteenth century under Abdul-Hamid II, the last of the Ottoman Sultans actually to rule 55

3 the empire. The worst massacres during this time occurred from after a tax protest by Armenians. They are now known as the Hamidian Massacres and some believe represented a foreshadowing of the Genocide to come. During the Hamidian Massacres, 100,000 to 300,000 Armenians were killed in towns and villages throughout areas of the Ottoman Empire. Thousands of Armenians fled and found refuge in Europe and the United States. Some who stayed converted to Islam in order to save their own lives. The massacres caught the world s attention because of their unique nature. Armenians were unarmed and adhered to the perimeters set forth by the Ottoman government. The massacres were publicized in newspapers throughout the world. The U.S. media paid particular attention to the events. The New York Times as well as other news sources regularly published articles about the brutal killings, coverage that would continue through the Armenian Genocide. Many American missionaries and diplomats who worked throughout the Ottoman Empire witnessed the atrocities firsthand and helped mobilize relief efforts. Aid for Armenian victims became the first international mission of the American Red Cross. Later during the Genocide, a society known as the Near East Relief would raise more than $100 million in assistance to Armenians; the funds collected saved countless Armenian lives in the 1890s and during the Genocide, which at the time represented more money than all the aid raised to help tsunami victims in While the funds collected saved countless victims lives, it was the only aid Armenians would see. Hope to Despair In 1908, Armenians and other minorities of the Ottoman Empire began to rejoice in what promised to be a new era of tolerance and the establishment of a participatory government in the Ottoman Empire. Armenians, Arabs, Greeks, Jews, and Kurds had begun working with a group of Turks to challenge the authority of the Sultan. This group was known as the Ottoman Liberals and the Turkish coalition of the group adopted the name Young Turks. They wanted to create a modern state that represented inhabitants of the Ottoman Empire more equally and render the Sultan politically powerless. In 1908, one of the Young Turk groups, the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), marched on Constantinople, and overthrew Sultan Abdul-Hamid. Over the next year, the Ottoman Empire developed a constitutional government providing equal rights for all of its citizens. Ottoman Armenians hoped that the new constitution would protect them from the violence they endured under the Sultan. However, as time passed, advocates of liberalism in the government lost out to a group promoting authoritarian rule and a radical policy of Turkification. In April 1909, Armenian hopes were dashed as Hamidian supporters in the city of Adana carried out 56

4 a massacre of Armenians as part of an attempt to reestablish the power of the Sultan. Adana was heavily populated by Armenians and had at one time been part of Armenian territory. Despite attempts at resistance, in the end almost 30,000 Armenians were killed and nearly half the city destroyed. The Armenian Genocide The culprits of the Adana Massacre were never punished and after 1909, an extreme nationalist political movement promoting a policy of Pan-Turkism ( Turkey for the Turks ) gained backing from Turkish populations throughout the Ottoman Empire. In addition, the Ottoman Empire, now known as the sick man of Europe, was weakened by the loss of its lands in southeastern Europe in the Balkan Wars of One of the Ottoman Empire s greatest enemies was Russia, as Russia was constantly threatening the security of the Ottoman borders and controlled parts of the eastern edge of the Ottoman Empire that was populated by Armenians. Since the Russians had advocated for Armenian reforms in the past and because the Russian army did have Armenians serving as soldiers, the Ottoman government was concerned that Ottoman Armenians might commit traitorous acts. This fear helped to fuel Turkish public sentiment against Armenians. The Ottoman Empire entered World War I in 1914, fighting against Russia in campaigns that straddled territory inhabited by Armenians on both sides of the border. The Ottoman Empire was badly defeated by Russia in a campaign in the winter of , and the government then made the Armenian community a scapegoat for the military losses that had occurred at the hands of the Russians. 57

5 By the spring of 1915, leaders of the ruling party, the CUP, seized the opportunity of a world preoccupied by war to erase the Armenian presence from almost all Ottoman lands. The CUP was a triumvirate led by Mehmet Talaat, Ismail Enver, and Ahmed Jemal. Beginning on April 24, 1915 (now commemorated as the beginning of the Armenian Genocide), Armenian civil leaders, intellectuals, doctors, businessmen, and artists were rounded up and killed. Once these leaders of the Armenian communities were killed, the Genocide plan was put into motion throughout the empire. Many Armenian men were quickly executed. Using new technologies, such as the telegraph and the railroads, CUP leaders sent orders to province leaders to gather women and children and either load them onto trains headed for the Syrian Desert or lead them on forced marches into the desert. Embarking with little food and few supplies, women and children had little hope of survival. On these journeys, Turkish gendarmes regularly subjected Armenian women to sexual violence. Special militias were created by the government to carry out the deportations and murders; and Turkish and Kurdish convicts who had been set free from jails brutalized and plundered the deportation caravans winding through the severe terrain. Some women and children were abducted and sold, or children were raised as Turks by Turkish families. Some Armenians were rescued by Bedouins and other Arabs who sympathized with the Armenian situation. Sympathetic Turkish families also risked their own lives to help their Armenian neighbors escape. Within months, the Euphrates and Tigris rivers became clotted with the bodies of Armenian women and children, polluting the water supply for those who had not yet perished. Dysentery and other diseases were rampant and those who managed to survive the march found themselves in concentration camps. By 1918, most of the Armenians who had resided in this historic land were dead or in the Diaspora. Under the orders of Turkey s new leader, Mustafa Kemal (Ataturk), the remaining Armenians in western Cilicia (the region of the Ottoman Empire originally inhabited by Armenians) were expelled, as were the Greek and Assyrian populations. By 1923, a 3,000-year-old civilization virtually ceased to exist. One and a half million Armenians, more than half of the Armenian population on its historic homeland, were dead, and the Armenian community and personal properties were lost, appropriated by the government, stolen by others or deliberately destroyed. Only a small number of Armenians remained in the former Ottoman capital of Constantinople. The Denial The term genocide was not created until It was devised by a legal scholar, Raphael Lemkin, who had been strongly influenced by his study of the Armenian case and the persecution of Jews under Nazi rule. In 1946, the United Nations adopted the language and two years later the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide was passed. Despite the 58

6 affirmation of the Armenian Genocide by the overwhelming majority of historians, academic institutions on Holocaust and Genocide Studies, and governments around the world, the Turkish government still actively denies the Armenian Genocide. Among a series of actions enacted to counter Armenian Genocide recognition and education, the Turkish government even passed a law in 2004 known as Article 305 which makes it a criminal offense, punishable by up to 10 years in prison, to discuss the Armenian Genocide. Most of the survivors of the Armenian Genocide have now passed away. Their families still continue to demand recognition for the suffering inflicted upon their beloved ancestors more than 90 years ago. 59

- WORLD HISTORY II UNIT SIX: WORLD WAR I LESSON 7 CW & HW NAME: BLOCK: - CENTRAL HISTORICAL QUESTION(S) HOW & WHY DID THE OTTOMAN-TURKS SCAPEGOAT THE ARMENIANS? WHAT IS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TOTAL WAR

Decline due to?... Decreased involvement of the Sultan in the affairs of the state Prospective Sultans stop participating in the apprentice training that was supposed to prepare them for the throne (military

Event A: The Decline of the Ottoman Empire Beginning in the late 13 th century, the Ottoman sultan, or ruler, governed a diverse empire that covered much of the modern Middle East, including Southeastern

Torn an interview wi th by Jovana TOM BOZIGIAN grew up in the Armenian community in Fresno, California, where he learned the dances and the music of the Armenian immigrants. Tom studied at Fresno State

NAME SCHOOL Part III DOCUMENT-BASED QUESTION This question is based on the accompanying documents. The question is designed to test your ability to work with historical documents. Some of these documents

Decline and Fall of the Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, which had been steadily declining since the late 1700s, finally ended after World War I. Reading Connection Do you think it is possible for an

Chapter 10: From the Crusades to the New Muslim Empires Guiding Question: How did the Crusades affect the lives of Christians, Muslims, and Jews? Name: Due Date: Period: Overview: The Crusades were a series

Warm-Up: What are 2 inferences/observations you can make about the Ottoman Empire in 1580? The Ottoman Empire Learning Goal: Explain what was significant about the organization of the Ottoman Empire and

Andrew Sorensen Oxford Scholars World War I 7 November 2018 The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and its Legacy World War I spanned entire continents, and engulfed hundreds of nations into the deadliest conflict

3 Turkey s People and Geography Today, Turkey is a country of about eighty million people. It spans the edges of two continents Europe and Asia and is considered part of both Europe and the Middle East.

Erdogan, Joined Untouchables Tyrants Supporting Erdogan will create unprecedented chaos in the region and will create many versions of ISIS The Erdogan military aggression against the Kurds in EFRIN is

The Byzantine Empire By History.com, adapted by Newsela staff on 11.27.17 Word Count 1,009 Level 1060L Emperor Justinian and members of his court. Image from the public domain The origins of the Byzantine

Sarah Aaronsohn 1890 Zikhron Ya akov, Palestine October 9, 1917 Zikhron Ya akov, Palestine Spy Sarah Aaronsohn s story is one of personal courage and risk to further a cause. A Jewish woman who lived in

THE DECLINE OF THE WESTERN ARMENIAN PRESS (1900-1922), Corresponding Member of NAS RA Summary Western Armenian neutral press of the first quarter of the 20 th century displayed the ethnic, political and

Armenian Terrorism: History as Poison and Antidote By Justin McCarthy Historians do not usually contribute to discussions of present-day terrorism. Middle East historians have especially avoided comment

Muslim Advances from 1450-1800 Suleimaniye Mosque, Istanbul Rise of the Ottoman Turks! During the 13 th century, Turks under Osman begin building power in Anatolia they had received land in this area from

O"oman Empire AP World History 19a Founded by Turks Started in Anatolia Controlled Balkan Peninsula and parts of eastern Europe Acquired much of the Middle East, North Africa, and region between the Black

Chapter 6 Fill-in Notes THE BYZANTINE AND ISLAMIC EMPIRES Overview Roman Empire collapses in the West The Eastern Roman Empire became known as the Empire a blending of the and cultures which influenced

Name: Date: How the Middle East Got that Way Directions : Read each section carefully, taking notes and answering questions as directed. Part 1: Introduction Violence, ethnic clashes, political instability...have

Death and Forced Exile of Ottoman Muslims in the 1912-1913 Balkan Wars I n Spring of 1912, Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia, and Montenegro agreed to invade the Ottoman Empire and to drive the Ottomans from Europe.

Byzantines, Turks, and Russians Interact 500-1500 Byzantium Germanic tribes had driven the Romans east. In 330 CE, the Roman emperor had begun to favor Christianity and established a city called Constantinople,

World History I Robert Taggart Table of Contents To the Student.............................................. v A Note About Dates........................................ vii Unit 1: The Earliest People

MEMORANDUM DATE: 5 May 2006 SUBJECT: Problems Faced by the Ecumenical Patriarchate Restrictions on the Election of the Ecumenical Patriarch In 1923 and 1970, the Governor of Istanbul issued illegal decrees

CHAPTER 14 PRESENCE OF CHRISTIAN GROUPS IN PERSIA FROM 30 A.D. TILL NOW In Chapter 10, Far Reaching Effects of Pentecost: Persian Missionaries, we mentioned the early church which began after Persian Jews

Chapter 2: The Evolution of the Interstate System and Alternative Global Political Systems I. Introduction II. Sovereignty A. Sovereignty B. The emergence of the European interstate system C. China: the

The Crusades: War in the Holy Land By Encyclopaedia Britannica, adapted by Newsela staff on 07.18.17 Word Count 1,094 Level 970L Richard I leaving England for the Crusades in 1189. Painted by Glyn Warren

Information for Emperor Cards AUGUSTUS CAESAR (27 B.C. - 14 A.D.) has been called the greatest emperor in all of Roman history. After the assassination of Julius Caesar, war broke out among the many groups

Geographical Worlds at the Time of the Crusades 1 One thousand years ago the nations and peoples of Europe, western Asia, and the Middle East held differing cultural and religious beliefs. For hundreds

Building a Better Bridge Ipgrave, Michael Published by Georgetown University Press Ipgrave, Michael. Building a Better Bridge: Muslims, Christians, and the Common Good. Washington: Georgetown University

OTTOMAN EMPIRE UNIT V: Industrialization and Global Interactions 1750-1914 PROBLEMS FACED BY THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE Succession of weak sultans led to power struggle between ministers, religious experts, and

The Byzantine Empire and Emerging Europe Chapter 8 Section 2 Decline & Fall of Rome The Romans are no longer a world superpower so what the heck happened? 1. Military Problems 2. Economic Problems 3. Political

Gunpowder Empires AP World History Revised and used with permission from and thanks to Nancy Hester, East View High School, Georgetown, Tx. With the advent of gunpowder (China), the Empires that had access

TURKS AND ARMENIANS A Manual on the Armenian Question Justin McCarthy and Carolyn McCarthy Committee on Education Assembly of Turkish American Associations Washington, D.C., 1989 Publication of this manual

Claremont Colleges Scholarship @ Claremont Scripps Senior Theses Scripps Student Scholarship 2014 The Transformation of an Empire to a Nation-State: From the Ottoman Empire to the Republic of Turkey Sarah

Chapter 27 Islamic Gunpowder Empires The Ottoman Empire was established by Muslim Turks in Asia Minor in the 14th century, after the collapse of Mongol rule in the Middle East. It conquered the Balkans

Presented on the occasion of the opening of the exhibit Légion Arménienne: The Armenian Legion and Its Heroism in the Middle East Sunday, November 1, 2009 Henry Madden Library Prof. Barlow Der Mugrdechian

Lesson 2 The Arab Empire and the Caliphates ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS How can religion influence the development of an empire? How might religious beliefs affect society, culture, and politics? Reading HELPDESK

1. Which of the following events took place during the Umayyad caliphate? a. d) Foundation of Baghdad Incorrect. The answer is b. Muslims conquered Spain in the period 711 718, during the Umayyad caliphate.

Name Date Period Class Chapter 17: Half Done Notes Directions: So we are trying this out to see how it you guys like it and whether you find it an effective way to learn, analyze, and retain information

Nationalism in India and Southwest Asia Section 4 Nationalism triggered independence movements to overthrow colonial powers. Indian Nationalism Grows Hindu Indian National Congress and the Muslim League

The Byzantine Empire Today s Title: Right there^ Today s EQ: Why did the Byzantine Empire survive while other parts of the Roman Empire did not? Where did the Byzantine Empire come from? As we know, The

Essential Question: What were the achievements of the gunpowder empires : Ottomans, Safavids, & Mughals? Bellringer Name the 3 Gunpowder Empires and 2 things that they had in common. From 1300 to 1700,

Joy of All Who Sorrow No. 78 May 2015 Remembering the Armenian Genocide 1915-2015 In 1900 Christians constituted around 32% of Ottoman Turkey s population. Just 27 years later the figure was down to about

Citizens and Subjects: Human Rights in the Ottoman Empire By Lisa Adeli (CMES Outreach Coordinator, High School Social Studies Teacher, PhD in History) 1 Background Concept of legal guarantees of human

Days Three and Four Coffeehouse Research Days Essential Question: Have you ever been to a coffeehouse? What did you do there? Turkish Coffeehouses During Ottoman times coffeehouses were places where men

Unit 3 pt. 3 The Worlds of Christendom:the Byzantine Empire Write down what is in red 1 Copyright 2013 by Bedford/St. Martin s The Early Byzantine Empire Capital: Byzantium On the Bosporus In both Europe

The Later Middle Ages Section 1 MAIN IDEAS 1. Popes and kings ruled Europe as spiritual and political leaders. 2. Popes fought for power, leading to a permanent split within the church. 3. Kings and popes

Background Essay Questions 1. Why did Syrian citizens rise up in protest in March 2011? 2. How did President Bashar al-assad respond to the peaceful protests? 3. Despite being opposed to President Assad,

Daniel Florentin Abstract The Immigration of Sephardic Jews from Turkey and the Balkans to New York, 1904-1924: Struggling for Survival and Keeping Identity in a Pluralistic Society The massive immigration

GEOGRAPHY OF THE MIDDLE EAST A BRIEF INTRODUCTION DATE SEPTEMBER 28, 2016 NOTES BY DENIS BAŠIĆ Some basic information on the Muslim World FOR THE EXACT, CURRENT NUMBER OF PEOPLE ON THE PLANET CHECK THE

Studying the Ottomans: Section 2: Ottomans in the Modern World (19th -early 20th C.) WWI and Aftermath. End of Empire, Birth of Modern Turkey (2:) politics of dismemberment -- Secret Agreements Nov. 19-23

October 6, 2006 Ms. Renella Chapter 9 The Roman empire has been divided since 200s. The western half declined, the eastern half rose in importance. The Byzantine empire remained a political and cultural

a. Explain the difference between an ethnic group and a religious group. Ethnic vs. Religious Group Station An ethnic group is a group of people who share cultural ideas and beliefs that have been a part

Your Period 3 Maps are due NOW! Make sure your name is on the front page- submit it in the tray. This week s HW/Reading Schedule Tonight s HW: Intro to Period 4 (610-615), Ch. 13 pp. 617-626. Finish taking

What was the significance of the WW2 conferences? Look at the this photograph carefully and analyse the following: Body Language Facial expressions Mood of the conference A New World Order: Following WW2,

Society, Religion and Arts Despite the collapse of the Western Roman Empire, the Eastern Empire continued to thrive in Constantinople. It would endure for nearly 1,000 years after the Fall of Rome, largely

Tragedy in Iraq and Syria: Will It Swalloww Up the Arab Revolutions? The International Marxist-H Humanist Organization Date: June 22, 2014 The sudden collapse of Mosul, Iraq s second largest city, in the

Centre for Mediterranean, Middle East and Islamic Studies Interview with the Ambassador of Palestine in Athens, Marwan Emile Toubassi The interview was conducted by Zakia Aqra and Raffaele Borreca Athens,